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50 Years of British Art in Museums

The lecture will look at changes in the approach to the study, display and approach of British art in major museums in Great Britain since the establishment of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in 1970, including the National Gallery, Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery. It will include a set of reflections and conclusions about the long-term changes in the ways in which British art history has been studied, not least through major exhibitions.

Event timings

18.00–19.00 Lecture

19.00–19.30 Q&A

19.30–20.00 Drinks reception

About the speaker

Charles Saumarez Smith is chairman of the Royal Drawing School and Watercolour World, Honorary Professor of Architectural History at the Royal Academy and a Visiting Professor of Cultural History at Queen Mary University. He is currently working on a book, provisionally titled The Transformation of the Art Museum, due to be published by Thames & Hudson in 2021. He was previously Director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1994 to 2002, Director of the National Gallery from 2002 to 2007, and Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts from 2007 to 2018.